Bruce Barron won’t make Italy trip after meniscus surgery, and a mid-court line at Matt Court

Some news out of a media session with the Oregon basketball team Thursday afternoon, prior to Ducks' departure for their five-game tour of Italy on Monday:

1. Freshman guard Bruce Barron won't be making the trip. He had surgery to fix a small tear in the meniscus cartilage of his left knee on Monday and will be sidelined three to six weeks. The injury occurred in a pickup game.

2. Oregon coach Dana Altman said he expects transfers Tony Woods and Carlos Emory to make the trip, though both must complete some UO course work prior to departure. They are practicing with the team.

3. Sidelined during practices so far has been freshman guard Jabari Brown, who has a toe injury, though Altman was expecting him to travel and to play.

4. The surface of Matt Knight Arena has been refinished, with a single three-point line, to reflect the fact that the women have moved back to the men's distance of 20 feet, 9 inches. And, lo and behold, there is now a mid-court line that can actually be seen, sort of. It's two shades of brown, to match the floor design, and stops at either end of the "O" in the middle of the floor, but it's actually one that's visible without standing directly on top of it. It should satisfy the critics of last season's near-invisible line that actually led to a key Creighton turnover in Oregon's win in the CBI.

5. Oregon expects to release the actual schedule of games for the Italy trip later this afternoon, and I'll post that separately then. Look for a feature on the freshmen, and a notebook, in Friday's print edition.